


chosen dreams

by blessedreylo



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Babies, Ben Solo has a 5 month old daughter, Cute, Cute Kids, Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Hux and Rey are roommates, Kaydel and Rose are the godmothers, M/M, Modern Reylo AU, Neighbor Rey, Neighbors AU, Rey is willing to help him with her, Reylo - Freeform, Romantic Fluff, Single Dad Ben Solo, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, modern reylo, this was just really cute and you can blame reylo_prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:56:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26034550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blessedreylo/pseuds/blessedreylo
Summary: based on the @reylo_prompts submission: Single dad Ben Solo is struggling with a fussy baby that won't stop crying. Ben's new neighbor Rey hears the crying and knocks on the door to see if she can help.
Relationships: Kaydel Ko Connix/Rose Tico, Kylo Ren/Rey, Poe Dameron/Armitage Hux, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 31
Kudos: 316
Collections: Reylo Prompt Fills (@reylo_prompts), The Sacred Texts [ 2020 ]





	chosen dreams

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Избранные мечты](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29585328) by [WTF Star Wars Sequels 2021 (Star_Wars_Sequels)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star_Wars_Sequels/pseuds/WTF%20Star%20Wars%20Sequels%202021)



> please enjoy this sweet self-indulgent fluffball of a oneshot, you know I can't help myself when it comes to single dad Ben Solo!
> 
> comments and kudos are always appreciated! feel free to follow me on twitter @blessedreylo for more 💞

[ ](https://imgur.com/bDzAKGx)

A knock on the door takes Ben out of his panicked attempts to quell little Emilia to go to sleep. His five month old daughter is literally the love of his life but he vastly underestimated how parenting as a single father would be. She’s normally such an angel but it's almost 11:00pm and nothing he’s doing is putting her to sleep. He’s mentally preparing himself for one of his neighbors to be on the other side complaining about the noises of her crying when he opens the door with one hand to reveal _her_. 

Rey Niima from apartment 43, probably the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. He’d made an actual fool of himself when she moved in a few months ago, practically tripping over his words as she looked up at him with her bright hazel eyes and snow white smile. And here she is at his front door on a Thursday night in her pajamas and no makeup looking as cute as ever.

“Hi Ben.” she says quietly with a smile.

“Hi Rey. Look, I’m so sorry about the noise, I’ve been trying to put her to--”

“No, don’t worry about it. I’m not here to complain, I’m here to help. If you need it, that is.”

He pauses to blink at her curiously. “Do you have kids?” It seems like a silly question to ask, and by the way she guffaws she must think so too.

“Oh, no definitely no. I just grew up in a house with a lot of little kids. I was always the oldest so I had a lot of experience at a very young age.”

“Well, I’d be grateful for any of that experience right about now.” he chuckles, motioning her in.

She steps in and he leads her to Emilia's room which is dimly lit in glow in the dark stars and a night light. His little screaming demon with curly black hair and chunky cheeks is making uncomfortable noises that he wishes he could do anything to quell. She snuffles in her crib as Rey reaches down to scoop her up, tucking her into her elbow as she speaks to her in a soft voice.

“Hi, sweetheart. You don’t know me but my name is Rey. I live near your daddy and I heard you were sad so I thought I’d come and help.” Ben’s heart is practically melting as he watches from the doorway, his mind drifting to an alternate universe where he, Rey and Emilia live as one happy family. It’s something he has to quickly put out of his head, he has no idea what her current relationship status is or if she’d even want kids, or even want _him_ for that matter. 

“I know...you’re super tired, huh?” she continues softly as she rocks a slightly less fussy Emilia in her arms. He’s surprised to see that his daughter has actually settled down, her little burbles and snuffles replacing the cries of earlier. “I would love to know what you’ll dream of when you sleep tonight. Promise you’ll tell me one day, okay?” Rey takes the other hand that isn’t already holding her and gently strokes her pinky down the bridge of Emilia’s little button nose, watching as her eyes flutter shut. Rey gives Ben a satisfied look as she raises her eyebrows, gently and quietly returning Emilia back to her crib before tip-toeing out of the room behind Ben. 

When they reach the safety of the living room, Ben lets out a shaky exhale as he runs his fingers through his hair. “You’re a fucking miracle worker. Please tell me that there’s some way I can repay you.”  
  


Her eyes light up for a moment but she shakes her head. “No need. She’s an absolute cutie and I’d love to come around any time.” Before he can say or do anything her phone begins to vibrate and she reaches into the pocket of her pajama pants to retrieve it. Ben doesn’t mean to be nosy, but he does catch a flash of the name ‘Armie’ and a contact photo of a good looking redhead giving Rey a piggy back ride that makes his heart sink. _Of course_ someone as beautiful and kind-hearted as Rey would have a boyfriend. She slides her thumb over the screen to answer it. “Hey...yeah I’m still at Ben’s place...Oh my God, stop it...Yeah I’ll be back in a few....Okay, bye.” 

“Sorry for keeping you…” he mutters, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he looks down at his feet.

“No, no, of course not. He’s just being Armie. But hey…” she makes her way over to his kitchen, taking the marker next to the whiteboard on the fridge to scribble something on it. “Here’s my number. Text me anytime you need me -- I mean, help with Emilia.” She turns back over and smiles a big wide smile, before waving one last goodbye and trotting off down the hallway back to her place. He can’t help but stare at her cute handwriting, and he’s definitely not thinking about why she signed her name with a heart after it. That would just be pathetic.

💞

His thumb quivers over the screen of his phone, a composed text message to Rey ready to send. Over the last few weeks he’s been finding reasons to talk to her, always making sure that they’re about Emilia to avoid himself looking desperate (as if that was possible).

“Hey, do you think she’s supposed to be able to roll over onto her tummy by now?”

“Wanna see this picture of her stuffing her face with puréed carrots and potatoes?”

“I have a feeling she might already be tall enough to ride the Incredicoaster at Disneyland.”

Is asking her to come over because Emilia is having difficulty feeding as pathetic an excuse as it sounds? Maybe. But it’s true, she’s not taking her bottle like usual and he’s concerned. He thinks fuck it and sends it, sliding his phone across the counter like it will self-destruct from sending her a message. Not even two minutes later she responds and says that she’ll be over in ten minutes, adding a plethora of cute little emojis that seem so quintessentially Rey. He takes those ten minutes to haphazardly tidy the apartment and ruffle his hair in the reflection of the microwave, jumping as he hears a knock on the door. 

“Hi Ben!” she beams up at him the second he opens the door. He has to fight to pump the oxygen back in his lungs at the sight of her, a flowy white tank top and jean cut off shorts framing her petite frame perfectly as her short hair hangs loosely around her shoulders. “Is my favorite little munchkin giving you trouble?”

“Yeah…” he scoffs a laugh, ushering her into the apartment. “Just having trouble taking her bottle.”

“Well let’s see what we can do to fix that, princess!” Rey coos in her sweet baby voice, making silly grab hands at Emilia while she sits in her high chair. His daughter babbles excitedly when Rey scoops her up and tucks her onto her hip as she bounces her gently. “Okay, so this is gonna be a little unconventional but…” she begins, her free hand toying with the neckline of her top.

Ben doesn’t have enough time to react. “Rey, what are you--” 

The next thing he knows is Rey pulling down the neckline of her top to reveal one side of the flimsy bralette that will now be permanently seared into his brain forever. Rey doesn’t seem to acknowledge the flustered turmoil he’s experiencing when she reaches for the bottle and holds it just over her breast as if it were her nipple. 

“Now you see here, Emilia…” Rey begins in her gentle baby voice. “Your little baby brain is programmed to want milk from a boobie, which is totally understandable. The problem is that Daddy’s boobies can’t give you milk, so by doing this I’m playing a tiny little trick on you to make you think _my_ boobie is giving you milk. I hope you’ll forgive me for the deception.” Emilia doesn’t seem perturbed at all, happily sucking from the bottle as she looks up at Rey with wide eyes. When she sees that her trick is successful, Rey looks up at Ben and giggles at the completely stunned look on his face. 

His Adam’s apple bobs up and down as he swallows. “You are...”

“Crazy? Insane? Completely off my rocker?” Rey supplies with a laugh.

“...extraordinary.” he breathes out, his eyes not leaving hers. She tries to hide it, but he can see that she’s stunned by his response. Her eyes widen suddenly while the rest of her face tries to remain impassive. A beat of silence passes between them before she comes back to her senses and lets out a nervous chuckle.

“I don’t know about all _that_. But I appreciate it.” Her cheeks have gone slightly pink as she looks down at the feeding baby in her arms, now unable to meet his eyes. Ben takes a few steps closer to her, slowly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Their eyes meet again only inches apart, but the moment is snapped when Emilia begins to snuffle in Rey’s arms, the bottle now empty. Ben silently takes his daughter into his own arms, bouncing her and rubbing soothing circles on her back to burp her. 

“Rey--”

“Ben--”

They both chuckle when they realize they’ve spoken at the same time. They fumble with their words for a moment, Rey insisting that Ben speaks first. He runs his hand through his hair, sighing in an attempt to compose himself for this potentially risky question. 

“I...would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow?” he stutters, watching as her eyes widen suddenly. He quickly realizes that she might get the wrong idea so he quickly tries to clarify. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to impose and make your boyfriend feel uncomfortable--”

Her face scrunches in confusion, and Ben can’t deny it's utterly adorable. “Boyfriend? What are you... _ohhhhh_ …” She laughs to herself and Ben can’t discern why that would be funny. Did they have some kind of open relationship? “Ben...Armie isn’t my boyfriend. He’s just my roommate. My roommate that is very much in a committed relationship with our friend, Poe.” 

“Oh!” Ben pipes up, right at the time that Emilia burps. They both laugh at the cute little interruption, Ben carefully setting her down on her playmat in the middle of the living room. “So, no boyfriend then?”

She bites her lip with a smirk, shaking her head. “Nope.” 

“Well...okay...yeah...I mean if you’d like to come...over for dinner tomorrow…” Ben is a stammering fool, so horribly out of the game he has absolutely no idea what to do in this moment. He’s hoping that she’ll interject his mumbling and put him out of his misery, and thankfully she does.

“Ben, I would love to.” she responds with a smile. He doesn’t miss the way she gently places her hand on his chest, and he’s almost certain she can feel how fast his heart is beating against his ribcage.

“Great! Um, I mean...yeah that’s good. Great. Does six o’clock sound good?”

“Perfect. It’s a date.” she smirks. His brain has absolutely short circuited so all he can do is smile like an idiot as he watches her saunter out of his apartment, giving him one last knowing look before shutting the door behind her. Slumping onto the couch he sighs and turns down to look at his daughter with a teething toy in her mouth as she babbles to herself.

“What the hell am I going to do, Em?”

💞

“OMG, can you believe our little Benji has a date?!” Kaydel exclaims, bouncing Emilia as she stands in her lap. Ben groans and tries to ignore her from the kitchen, preparing the vegetables for the oven. 

“Kay, leave him alone. Can’t you see he’s sweating bullets!” Rose laughs, rummaging through Ben’s wine cabinet for the perfect selection.

“Neither of you are being very helpful.” Ben sighs, checking the clock from the oven. Rey’s going to be here any minute, especially since her commute is only a few feet down the hall. He wants this to be absolutely perfect, so he had to enlist two of his closest friends to take Emilia out for the night so there would be no distractions. Of course, he loves her with all his heart but he’s dying to have some alone time with Rey and get to know the real her. Rey’s signature three knocks hit the door and Kaydel squeals, standing up to put Emilia on her hip and jog to the door. He wanted to be the one to greet her and warn her about the barrage but Kaydel is too quick, reaching over to open the door and greet her with a bright smile.

“Hi! You must be Rey! C’mon in!” Kaydel says excitedly, Rey taking her in with a surprised smile. “Wow, Benji, I know you said that Rey was pretty but you didn’t say she was drop dead _gorgeous_!” 

“Oh, you’re so sweet thank you.” Rey giggles shyly, a pink blush on her cheeks. 

“Rey, this is Kaydel and her girlfriend, Rose. They’re two of my closest friends and Emilia’s godmothers.” Ben gestures to them as Rey goes to shake both of their hands. “Kaydel actually agreed to be Emilia’s surrogate.”

“Artificial insemination...don’t worry.” Kaydel whispers with a knowing smile, causing Rey to blush and scoff a laugh.

“Wow! That’s amazing!” Rey smiles with a little opened mouth surprise.

“Yup, I always wanted to know what it was like to be preggo but didn’t think the mom life was for me. Now the godmother life? That’s my true calling. I get to spoil my precious little chunkster and then hand her back to her pops when she shits herself.” Kaydel giggles, tickling Emilia’s tummy until the baby shrieks with laughter. 

“We’re just gonna take her for a couple of hours--”

“Or the whole night!” Kaydel smirks, flashing Ben a quick wink.

“--just so you guys can have some alone time.” Rose smiles, nudging Ben’s side. Rey can probably definitely notice the tinge of red that shows up on the tips of his ears but makes no remark. Very quickly, Ben is kindly shoving Kaydel and Rose out, not before peppering a dozen kisses on Emilia’s cheeks. Once the door shuts behind them, Ben turns to Rey and sighs with a smile.

“Shall we?” he says, gesturing to the dining table. 

💞

Ben ends up learning a lot about Rey that night.

  1. She works as a software engineer at some social media company.
  2. She’s a self-proclaimed “garbage disposal” and will pretty much eat any kind of food. Which is great because all he does is test out new recipes that may or may not be suitable for a five month old.
  3. The reason she had so many young siblings as a kid was because she was living in a foster house. He didn’t try to pry too much with this one, but she didn’t seem sad to share it. Apparently her foster mom, Maz had eventually adopted her when she was fifteen so it has a happy ending.
  4. Ben Solo might just be a little bit in love with her.



He shares some of his own life too, about how he came to be the author of a series of murder mystery romance novels, or how he collects wine even though he knows absolutely nothing about it or why he decided to become a single father.

“I was just sick of my life staying stagnant. I didn’t feel like I needed to go the traditional path of marriage and then kids. I always wanted to be a father and clearly I’m not getting any younger so I just said screw it and took a detour.” 

She nods, taking another sip of wine. “That’s really good, Ben. I always kinda felt the same way, like I wasn’t really made for the traditional route. That it would take someone really really special for me to want to spend the rest of my life with them, ya know?” 

He smiles, leaning himself just a little bit closer to her. “Yeah, I definitely know the feeling.” 

Their night eventually moves to the couch as they put on some nature documentary as background noise for their continued conversation. He can’t believe how easy it is to talk to her, how she seems to talk about everything with such passion with the hand flourishes to match. She’s tucked up on her knees on the couch with her body turned to face him as he sits only a few inches away with one leg crossed over the other. His mind starts to wander as he stares at her moving lips, wondering how they would feel against his own.

“Ben?” she says softly, snapping him out of his reverie. She’s looking at him curiously, her lower lip between her teeth.

“I’m sorry. Got distracted for a second.”

“And may I ask what has you so distracted?” she quips with a smirk, raising her eyebrow.

“I could tell you...or I could show you.” he whispers, leaning impossibly closer until he can feel her breath against the corner of his mouth. He catches the barely perceptible nod she gives him before leaning forward to close the distance. Her lips feel insanely soft as they begin to glide against his, a soft sigh of relief escaping her nostrils. He cups her jaw with one hand, swiping the apple of her cheek gently with the pad of his thumb. Rey crawls closer to him, climbing over to straddle one of his thighs as they deepen the kiss, her hands coming up to weave themselves through his hair. 

“Mmmmm, Ben…” she mutters against his lips when he wraps his arms around her and presses her even closer to his chest. 

“Rey…” he whispers, breaking their kiss apart to rest their foreheads against each other. “I really like you. But I have to be honest, I haven’t done this…. _any of this_....in a really long time. It might take some time for me to feel ready. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea or that I’m leading you on--”

“Hey, hey…” she sighs gently, cupping his face in her small hands. “I really like you too, Ben. We don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with. I’m perfectly happy with just this. With you.” All he can do in response is kiss her again, resuming their makeout session like a pair of touch starved teenagers.

They continue to explore each other on that couch for an indiscernible amount of time before they hear keys jingling in the front door, Rey attempting to pry herself away before Ben tightens his grip on her with a laugh. The door bursts open to reveal Kaydel, Rose and Emilia, who’s already fast asleep in her buggy. Rey blushes when Kaydel wolf whistles at them, Rose slapping her shoulder before ushering her and her girlfriend to put Emilia to bed. Ben and Rey attempt to untangle themselves from each other, standing up to smooth themselves out.

“This was a lot of fun...thank you.” Rey smiles, wrapping her arms around his torso as she looks up at him. He kisses the tip of her nose before catching her lips again, the two of them smiling into the kiss. She eventually makes her way to the front door, but not before giving Ben another kiss to his cheek.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you home?” he jokes with a chuckle. 

“I think I’ll be able to manage the twenty foot trek, thank you.” she giggles sarcastically. “The question is will you?”

“To be honest, I don’t think I will. I miss you already.”

“Well, at least you know that my number doesn’t need to only be used for Emilia-related emergencies anymore.”

“And I can already think of about thirty Ben-related emergencies that it will _definitely_ be used for.” he whispers into the shell of her ear. Her laugh is infectious and he plans to hear that sweet sound every day for the rest of his life. 

“Goodnight, Ben.” she whispers, slowly walking away even as their hands are intertwined. She eventually detaches, but doesn’t her eyes off him as she continues down the hall.

“Goodnight, Rey.” he whispers back, leaning against the frame of the door as he keeps his eyes on her the entire way. It’s only when she gives him one more smile before she disappears into her apartment, Ben shutting his own door to lean against it with a content sigh. 

  
  



End file.
